


Now Captain

by Seagoatink



Series: Survival Isn't Pretty [16]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 13:24:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8846740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seagoatink/pseuds/Seagoatink
Summary: “Don’t you have little turian runts at home too, Captain?” Vega butted in over the radio.





	

After returning to active duty, the universe seemed to fall into place for Shepard. Almost a year ago, she was promoted from commander to captain. The title felt right. After the ceremony, she remembered how Admiral Hackett addressed her. “You remind me of your father, you know the one. Congratulations, Captain Shepard,” he had said while shaking her hand.

A few crew members returned to her, like Joker. Most of the Normandy’s personnel were new though. In fact, many of them were greenhorns assigned under the captain and her first officer Commander James Vega. It did not deter the captain though, she knew the fleet was hoping for a high turnout of excellent servicemen and servicewomen. Plus her work for the Council as a Spectre would push her crew to the max, if all worked out according to plan. 

There were not many raids to report to, but she had been assigned a few scouting missions to start. Most other missions were covert ops. Still, it was comfortable. During a few missions, she had Vega stay on board, but for the most part he led away teams while Shepard assessed the mission from the ship. 

“Do you miss it, Captain?” Joker asked as Shepard stood by his side. “All the action,” the man clarified, assuming she was lost in thought.

Her commander was on the planet, with the away team he was accustomed to after a few months working with them. “I miss it. Before Saren, of course,” Cheska replied, not thinking too hard on the matter. “After that, I had too much head trauma to consider going back,” she chuckled under her breath. The captain stole a glance down at her pilot. He lost a parent and sister during the war; meanwhile Cheska found her brother was still alive. Her heart went out to him.

“Didn’t you die too?” Joker asked sarcastically.

Cheska laughed, shrugging her shoulders. “Hell if I even know!” She would have given him a friendly slap on the back, but refrained because of his brittle bone disease. “It’s good to be back on duty though,” she replied. “I missed the family.”

This made Joker turn the chair so he could face his captain instead of crane his neck to stare up at her. “I thought you had a turian waiting at home,” he said as more of a statement than a question.

“Don’t you have little turian runts at home too, Captain?” Vega butted in over the radio.

“Turians are a military race, they don’t sit at home and wait, Commander,” Shepard chuckled and winked at Joker. “Seems to me, that’s what you’re doing right now. Nix the home part.”

She could practically hear his face redden as he stuttered. “I-I’m waiting for Lieutenant Nguyen to finish hacking the door, Captain,” he assured her, still stumbling over his words.

There was feedback in the background, causing Shepard to furrow her brows. “Update, Commander,” she ordered sharply.

Over the radio shots sounded along with more static. The Lieutenant screamed, but stopped herself by the sounds of the whole mess. The last thing Cheska expected was for the mission to be interrupted by a gang or mercenaries.

“We’ll be fine, it’s just a few mercenaries, Captain,” Vega finally assured Cheska over the comms when the shooting stopped. “There’s still some interference. We’ll try and figure out why,” he added. 

“Shepard, Admiral Hackett has a transmission for you,” Edi said from her chair beside Joker.

The mission wrapped itself up an hour later. Vega and his team made themselves back at home, writing up mission reports in the mess. “Once you’re done writing up your report, join me in my cabin with some food,” Shepard told James before addressing her lieutenant and other officers. “You all holding up better now?” She asked them, sitting on the edge of the table with her arms folded over her chest.

“Yes Ma’am,” replied Lieutenant Nguyen. Her response did not surprise Cheska, after all Nguyen joined the military shortly after her death. The Alliance’s war propaganda worked it’s magic, and colony life was not what she was interested in anyway.

Cheska nodded and offered Nguyen a nod and a smile. “Good to hear,” she replied then turned to the other officers. “And the both of you?”

“A bit, Ma’am,” Sergeant Polov replied. He was hesitant, still finding his voice with it his place in the universe. But he was a biotic, and military dictated his life and his career. “I’m still getting used to how biotics work in action rather than theory.”

Again, the captain nodded in understanding. He had some practice during the Reaper War, but it hadn’t honed his skill nearly as much as the power behind his abilities. When fighting against reaper tech and rogue merc groups like Cerberus, raw power was as good as a grenade in enemy range. “I can assign you to more field work if you believe it will help, Sergeant,” Cheska suggested, “But training might do the trick too. Let me know what you think would work best.” She paused a moment before turning back to him to add, “Even if it isn’t preferable, Sergeant.”

Polov swallowed a lump in his throat. “Of course, Captain.”

“Ensign,” Cheska addressed the last officer with a smile. “After your report, return to the drive core, our chief engineer’s been missing you.” The captain pushed herself from the table and left for the med bay, not doubt to check up on mission injury reports with the ship’s doctor.

Back in her cabin, Cheska’s eyes followed her fish around in the tank. She remembered when she was a kid she would go fishing in the marsh on earth with her brother. That was before their parents took them to Mindoir as colonists. The ground would squish under her feet before she sat on the dock and dipped her muddy toes into the fish infested waters. Part of her wondered if that marsh was still there, waiting for her company again.

“Captain, you wanted to speak with me?” James said as he entered the room. He and the captain spoke often and openly. He had to admit, their talks were enjoyable and even enlightening at times. 

Shepard nodded, not turning at all to address her commander. “This isn’t an official meeting, Jimmy,” Cheska informed him, still staring intently into the tank of water. “I just missed the company of an old friend, that’s all,” she assured him, and finally turned at the hips to offer him a smile. Her arms were still folded across her chest.

“How’s Garrus doing?” He asked, hoping for an update on another old friend. Garrus was someone he missed hanging out with. Sometimes the turian would join him down in the shuttle bay to clean his guns while James worked on his more muscular guns. “I haven’t heard from him in a while.”

Cheska sneezed violently, her body thrust forward and her head nearly made contact with the glass of her personal aquarium. She sniffled and pressed her sleeve to her nose. “‘Scuse me!” She laughed, wrinkling her nose. “He took a slight to rank, but he’s doing well,” Cheska admitted, now turning fully to face Vega. “I can ask him to get back in contact with you if you want, Jimmy. I’m sure he’d welcome a distraction from fighting politicians for a chat with an old friend.”

“Fighting politicians?” Vega asked, doing his best to stifle a chuckle. 

“They want him to stop soldiering about and join their evil order,” Cheska joked. She laughed and rolled her eyes at the notion of her boyfriend entering politics.

This time, James really did laugh. “He’d lose his damn mind!”

She smirked at him as she strolled across the room to her desk. “That’s what he’s been telling them, even Primarch Victus is on his case,” Cheska added.

“So you and Garrus really are still…” James hesitated the way he always did.

“Oh yeah, we’re still in cahoots,” the captain replied casually. Carefully, she picked up a framed portrait of her and Garrus at their apartment on the Citadel, then handed it to her commander. “It’d be nice to see him more often, but we manage.” She handed him the picture.

James held the image in his hands. “With all due respect, Cheska, I’ve never seen you that damn happy in my life,” he said.

The woman offered him a weak smile and nodded. “I’ve-” She stopped, unsure of what she really wanted to say.

“It’s alright, Cheska,” James assured her. “We’ve had hard careers.”

Cheska smiled up at one of her many good friends. “Thanks, Jimmy,” she finally replied. Her hand reached out, accepting the picture back into her care. 

“No problem, Cheska,” he replied. “Anderson really would be proud of you, you know?”

**Author's Note:**

> I've had trouble writing lately. I'm back in Ohio and everything is unsurprisingly not the way it was when I left. It's going to take some time to settle in and get used to my current situation. Hopefully, I'll adjust a bit faster and shoot out fics at the pace I was before.


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